Wrapping Paper
by FreckledAdvocate
Summary: Priestly/Tish One-shot. This is a story of the rest of that fateful day when he finally asked her out, including their first date. He didn't think she'd go out with him the way he was. She didn't want him to change.


Every single regular customer who came into the Beach City Grill that day had to do a double-take. Even Lucille, the nice older customer who always brought her little dog Bam Bam in with her – she walked in, sat down, looked up and exclaimed, "Oh, and who are you?". Everyone laughed at that. Priestly tilted his head down in minor exasperation as he gave a little chuckle too.

"It's still me Lucille." He replied.

It took a minute to click. Then her eyes got wide.

"Oh my goodness! Look at you! You look like a right gentleman! Who knew that handsome boy was underneath all that hair and make-up?"

He blushed a little self-consciously then tried to politely take her order without dwelling on the topic of his new appearance.

That whole day he was fidgety. The clothes were… weird. They weren't good weird either. They weren't _his _weird. They were so conventional that ironically, they were weird. He was in weird clothes and now everyone knew his hated first name. Everyone who walked in treated him differently. He was uncomfortable in his skin. He felt like he'd given up a little bit of himself, and really he had. He gave up a little of his individuality, but he tried not to dwell on it.

All day he was still happy though. He was kind of nervous and unsure of his new appearance, but he had a date with Tish. That was enough to keep him smiling all day. Every time he noticed that his shirt was pulling on him unlike his comfortable tee-shirts and every time he caught a glimpse of his regular brown hair and gasped – he just thought of that kiss she'd already given him and he smiled again.

He was politer than usual, calmer than usual. It was like he was trying to tone himself down to fit into his clothing. He still had his Priestly-isms but they weren't as obvious as usual. Everyone was still in that post-romantic event mood that made him happy. He was acting like a bit of a romantic pansy, but he was happy. Plus he was taking _her_ out to dinner that night.

The both ducked out of the sandwich shop around 6 P.M. They walked over to his car; still the same moderately beat up red car. She grabbed his hand tentatively as they walked over to it. He looked down in surprise and she smiled shyly at him and he smiled back feeling like a teenager on his first date again. He walked to her side and graciously opened the door for her. She giggled and got in.

Once he was sitting in the front seat with his hands on the bright red steering wheel he looked over to her and couldn't help grinning. He felt better in his car. Even if he was in Banana Republic apparel his car was something original.

They drove a little down the peer and he asked her if an Italian restaurant was okay. She said that would be fine so he pulled the car up to the curb and put it in park. He tried to open her door again but she was already getting out, so he started toward the restaurant and held that door open instead. Again she giggled. She wasn't used to having dates hold doors for her. He just wasn't used to being noticed holding a door. And he just wasn't used to dates at all, which made him as giddy as she was.

They got a table and ordered their meals. Just like in the car, he felt better when it was just him and Tish. She was his friend, and she was just one person. Even in this getup it was easier to be himself when he was with just her. He'd never told her, but two of his personal goals every day were to make her laugh and to make Jen laugh. He liked being a smartass because he wanted to see people smile. For obvious reasons he got a thrill every time Tish laughed at something he said. Meanwhile he felt happy and accomplished when he got Jen to laugh because in his opinion she didn't laugh enough.

Thinking about Jen brought to mind how much looks did matter, and how much they shouldn't. He liked being different because he wanted to prove that you can be anything you want. He'd ever wanted looks to matter, so he spiked his hair and wore a kilt. It was right about when this thought popped into his head that he got insecure in his pants and button-up shirt.

Luckily she cracked a joke right about then and he barked a laugh forgetting to feel self-conscious about the whole "_Should I have changed who I am?"_ dilemma.

All-in all he should have felt weird and mildly upset with himself. But she made him forget that he was supposed to. It wound up being the perfect evening.

At the end of the night Priestly paid the bill. Tish thought it was really sweet that he not only left the waiter a nice tip, but also thanked him on the way out. That was just one of his Priestly-isms that made her smile. He was a genuinely nice guy. She couldn't remember hearing anyone else thank a waiter, or holding a door – again, as he was as this thought went through her mind. This time she didn't giggle, she just felt happy. This time he didn't even notice he was doing it. He always opened doors.

He didn't realize that she'd noticed his fidgeting. He didn't realize that he'd toned down his personality a little to fit his clothes. She did though. He didn't realize that she was having similar thoughts about his individuality and the things that made Priestly – Priestly.

She took hold of his hand again as they walked back to his car. They continued their conversation all the way back to the grill where her car was still parked out front. That was another lovable Priestly-ism she hadn't been expecting.

"You took me back to my car?" She said, perplexed.

This was mid-conversation so he looked around the lot, confused.

"Um… yea?"

"You didn't even try to take me home with you." She clarified.

"Oh." He said, understanding her train of thought. He suddenly looked nervous, unsure if he'd done something wrong.

"Priestly -"

"Tish, I –"

They both spoke at the same time and stopped suddenly.

"You first." Tish consented nodding at him.

"I…" He paused looking at her in his passenger seat with wide foreboding eyes. He thought he may have just screwed up this perfect night.

"Tish, I want to sleep with you. Of course I want to sleep with you! But I didn't want to – I usually don't after one date. I don't want to insult you, it's just – I'm already pretty out of my comfort zone and I usually wouldn't want to make you think I was using you or anything."

He was rambling. She shook her head and giggled good-naturedly at his nervousness. He would have continued had she not cut him off by grabbing his hands and saying,

"Priestly, I'm not insulted. I was just surprised. I think that's incredibly sweet. Honestly? I thought I was going to insult you by asking if we could wait a little while. You're one of my best friends and I was going to say I wanted to take things slow. I just didn't realize I wouldn't have to beat you off with a stick. I'm glad we're on the same page."

He smiled in relief. He actually ducked his head and exclaimed a "Whew." along with a, "Yea, me too."

He was so adorable. He'd genuinely thought he was in trouble and was relieved by her words. She couldn't help herself. She pulled one hand away from his and up to his face gently guiding his lips to meet hers. The fact that he was so surprised made her even happier. Within a few moments his arm was wrapped around her back, his other hand still holding hers. Who knew Priestly was such a good kisser?

She finally pulled away after a few more perfect seconds. Both had rapidly beating hearts and were grinning and blushing like teenagers.

"Still wanna take it slow?" She asked half-jokingly, and half-seductively.

Having seduced enough guys in her time she was glad to see the effect the statement had on him. When they finally would sleep together she could see he would be very responsive just by the slightly fearful look he gave her in return. She laughed. He was adorable. Why hadn't she seen it before?

"I'm just kidding. Tonight's not the night. We can take it slow."

She reached back over and placed a kiss on his cheek reassuringly.

"Oh, but there is one more thing I wanted to talk to you about tonight."

"What?" He asked.

"I like _you _Priestly. I don't care if your name is Boaz and I certainly don't care if you wear Banana Republic clothes or not."

He looked at her uneasily, not sure if she was joking with him or not.

"So you mean… you _want_ me to where a Mohawk to work?"

She smiled and shrugged.

"Priestly, I already like what's on the inside." She poked him lightly in the chest, "So you can where whatever wrapping paper you want, whatever you're most comfortable in."

He beamed at her. Surely, he couldn't have found a chick this cool.

"Besides," She continued, "The Priestly I know, and like, loves his Mohawk and funny shirts. So I like them too."

Now it was his turn to kiss her unexpectedly.

When they broke apart they embraced, both happy that he was still holding her in his arms.

"You know I went to put an order in your hair twice today, and had to stop myself with my hand already up in the air?"

He barked another laugh, shaking his head.

"Hey Tish?"

"Hmm?"

"I'm glad I can be myself around you."

"Same here Renaissance Man." She responded, reluctantly detaching herself from his chest.

"I guess I'm gonna go… thanks for tonight."

"It was my pleasure. Can I take you out again, maybe tomorrow night?"

"I would love that."

This night had been filled with a lot of mildly embarrassed grins. He smiled giddily at her then replied cheekily.

"Alright, I'll be the one with the Mohawk."

She laughed then got out of the car. She walked to his window and gave him one last goodnight kiss before going back over to her car and both drove away, happy at the start of something new.


End file.
